Dad Goes to Mortuary to Pick Up 27-Year-Old Son’s Clothes. Instead, He Claims, They Gave Him a Brain in a Bag

The relatives of a 27-year-old man are suing a California funeral business, alleging they were handed a bag they believed contained the man’s clothing—only to discover it instead held human brain matter.

Alexander Pinon died on May 19 at a residence in Santa Clara, California, according to a lawsuit his family filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Oct. 2.

The family hired Lima Family Erickson Memorial Chapel in San Jose for what the complaint describes as a “full-service memorial tribute package” costing more than $10,000. The package allegedly included embalming, dressing, and casketing services. The lawsuit states the family did not want Pinon dressed in the clothing he wore when he died, preferring different attire for visitation and funeral services.

According to the complaint, Pinon’s father met with funeral home director Annette Singh on June 4 to collect his son’s original clothing. The lawsuit alleges Singh provided him with a red bag labeled “biohazardous material” and said it contained the clothes.

Pinon’s father then drove home intending to clean the clothing, the complaint says. He allegedly emptied the bag directly into his washing machine—only to make what the family calls a horrifying discovery.

“The bag did not contain any clothing, but rather, it only contained human brain matter,” the lawsuit alleges.

Samer Habbas, an attorney for the family, told ABC station KGO in a story posted on Friday, Dec. 12, that the family did not know at the time whose brain it was.

“They didn’t know if it was mixed up with somebody else’s brain, whether it was their son’s, they had not a single idea,” Habbas said.

The lawsuit alleges Pinon’s father retrieved the brain matter from the washing machine, put it back in the bag, and returned it to Singh at the funeral home the same day. The family claims Singh took the bag, did not explain whose remains were inside, and did not apologize.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Service Corporation International—a parent corporation affiliated with Lima Family Erickson Memorial Chapel—said that “due to active litigation, we won’t be commenting on this matter.”

KGO reported that one of its reporters visited Lima Family Erickson Memorial Chapel and was told by an office manager that Singh had left the company two weeks earlier. After locating Singh at her home, the reporter allegedly saw her drive away without answering questions about the claims.

Pinon’s funeral services took place on June 5 at Oak Hill Memorial Cemetery. In the weeks that followed, the complaint alleges Pinon’s mother repeatedly messaged Singh seeking information about her son’s clothing. On July 8, Singh allegedly texted that she would follow up that same day.

The family further alleges that Singh placed a box in the funeral business’s courtyard sometime in June and told staff it contained clothing that would be professionally cleaned. According to the complaint, the box remained there into late August. At that time, a funeral employee allegedly opened it and found a red biohazard bag among other bags.

The complaint claims the employee was immediately overwhelmed by the smell and saw “a clay-like, light brown, and purple in coloration material that was severely deteriorated.” A second employee reportedly looked inside and realized the biohazard bag did not contain clothing, but a decomposing human brain.

Funeral employees later confirmed the bag contained Alexander’s brain, the lawsuit alleges.

The suit also claims the family believes both Alexander’s brain and clothing remain in the possession of the funeral business. The complaint alleges the defendants—Lima Family Erickson Memorial Chapel, Lima Family Santa Clara Mortuary, and Singh—caused the family “emotional distress, trauma, and mental anguish.”

“Discovering one’s own child’s brain matter in a washing machine and then having to scoop it out, and later learning that part of your loved one’s body was hidden and left to rot, is a horror no family should ever endure,” the complaint states. The family says they have suffered “shock, grief, nightmares, anxiety, depression, and other lasting psychological injuries” due to the alleged conduct.

Attorneys for the family are seeking the return of the remains they believe to be Alexander’s, KGO reported. His body has already been buried.

“We don’t know the extent of how much suffering they’re gonna go through for the remainder of their life,” Habbas told the station. “But I can tell you, it’s something that they’re never gonna forget, it’s something they’re gonna have to live with forever.”